FROM swimming to kettlebell training, meet the Scots who prove age should never be a barrier to fitness.

While most of us have quit exercise by the time we reach our mid-50s, this healthy trio are clearly bucking the trend.

Great-grandmother Cathy Sichi, 81, has walked the West Highland Way twice – the first time when she was 69.

She makes sure she walks every day since her husband, Alberto, passed away seven years ago.

Cathy, from Pollok, Glasgow, said: “I’ve always liked being outdoors and my husband and I used to go cycling on our tandem bike.

“We both enjoyed walking and I started getting out walking more as I got older.”

Cathy spent years caring for Alberto after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s – and now encourages other carers to get out and exercise.

She said: “It can be lonely being a carer and it’s so important to get out of the house.

“A few of us got together a few years ago and decided to take up walking.

“I make sure I walk to Silverburn and back every single day, except a Sunday – that’s about a mile.

“Then I walk with the Glasgow Health Walk Network every Monday. It’s very sociable and you get a laugh.”

Gran-of-12 Cathy doesn’t see her age as a barrier. She said: “You can get very depressed just sitting around the house.

“I think people who don’t exercise are just silly. Keeping active saves you from osteoporosis and keeps the mind active.”

Dave decided to get fit four years ago as he was worried he was getting old and overweight (Image: Stuart Nimmo)

Dave McInnes, 58, decided to get fit four years ago as he worried he was getting old and overweight. Now he is the oldest person in his kettlebells class and loves every minute of it.

The dad-of-two’s weight had crept up to 18 stone and the only exercise he did was to play bowls or darts.

He’s since transformed himself and has become a competing athlete.

He said: “I worried I was getting old. I look at my dad, who can’t get out on his own, and I didn’t want to end up like that. I had a dodgy back from playing rugby when I was younger and I wasn’t fit at all, so I decided to join a gym.”

It was at his local gym that Dave met personal trainer Davie McConnachie, who runs DMC Fitness in Glasgow.

Dave said: “My wife had been training with Davie and I got chatting to him. He suggested I lose a bit of weight and said he could help me strengthen my lower back. My initial target was to get down to 16-and-a-half stone, but my lowest weight so far has been 15st 10.”

Dave has even started training with kettlebells and is now competing.

He said: “I’ve been training with kettlebells since 2011 and since then I’ve competed in the English Open, the Welsh Open and at Kelvin Hall. I can swing 36kg kettlebells and love it.

“But I’m so pleased I turned my life around. My age isn’t a barrier, it only inspired me to push myself.”

Dorothy decided to take up exercise to lose weight for her son Iain's wedding (Image: Perthshire Picture Agency)

Dorothy McHattie, 61, decided to take up exercise two years ago to lose weight for her son Iain’s wedding. She’s now got the fitness bug and works out five days a week.

Dorothy, of Liff, near Dundee, said: “Before I retired a couple of years ago, the stress of my life made it impossible to fit in exercise.

“Then when I first retired I was enjoying sleeping late and relaxing.

“It was when, in October 2011, my son announced he was getting married that I sprung into action.

“I realised I had crept up to a size 18 and I was going to look frumpy in the wedding pictures.”

Dorothy joined Scottish Slimmers. She said: “I started to follow their diet plan but the class manager stressed how important it was to exercise too.

“The thought of going to the gym filled me with dread but I used to swim years ago and there’s a lovely gym with a pool near us, so I decided to join.”

Former headteacher Dorothy quickly transformed her lifestyle. She said: “The fitness bug soon took over. I’m up at seven and in the pool by eight. I swim for up to 40 minutes five days a week.”

Dorothy not only lost two-and-a-half stone and slimmed down to a size 12, but says she’s changed her life.

She added: “I feel fantastic. I was very lethargic before and probably a bit depressed about how I looked.

“When I was working, the last thing I wanted to do after a stressful day was pull on a swimsuit. But I'm much more positive and energetic now.”

For more information on Scottish Slimmers, go to www.scottishslimmers.com

Find out more about Davie McConnachie’s gym or personal training go to www.dmc-fightingfit.co.uk